Minister Responds to Statements about Ambulance User Fees

Health Minister Jamie Muir today said that the Department of Health will act on the auditor general's recommendation that the authority to charge ambulance fees be legislated.

"We've recognized this for some time, in fact legislation had been prepared before the auditor general made the recommendation in his report in 2000," said Mr. Muir.

The Department of Health has always subsidized the cost of ambulance service for Nova Scotia residents, while billing a portion of the cost of ambulance transport to the user of the service -- as in every other province in Canada. The user fee defrays the cost of providing this service. These fees are permitted under the Canada Health Act.

"We understand that some people may have difficulty paying their bills and our ambulance contractor, EMC, is always willing to arrange a payment plan for any individual who has difficulty," said the minister. "We also understand that some people may simply be upset about the appropriateness of a bill, and we have an appeals committee that meets monthly to address these concerns."

About 60 per cent of the bills sent out are home-to-hospital ambulance transports, which are $85. Another 30 per cent of the bills are for ambulance transports involving workplace injuries, these are covered by Workers' Compensation, or from car crashes where insurance companies pay the bill. The remaining 10 per cent of the bills would be for non-Nova Scotians or non-Canadians who are billed a significantly higher ambulance service rate -- $500 and $750 respectively. These rates are presently among the lowest in Canada.

"I can think of several scenarios where people paid higher fees prior to the last rate adjustment in 2000, when there were still charges per kilometre and a two-tier fee depending on how far away the hospital was. There was also another charge for transports between health-care facilities," said Mr. Muir. "These inter-facility charges were unfair to people in rural areas and have been abolished, and we now have a flat rate of $85 from home to hospital regardless of where you are in the province."

The minister said that this fee structure is fair and rational for the best ambulance service in Canada. He added that working with the existing appeals process, rather than legal action, is the best answer for Nova Scotians concerned with fees.